Piper private plane neatly lands in middle lane of Quebec highway
Quebec law prohibits motorists from passing on the right. There's nothing in the rule book about overtaking from above, especially if you're aboard a small plane experiencing engine trouble and you need a place to land. It's in these circumstances that Piper Cherokee made a perfect landing on Highway 40 outside of Quebec City.
Motorists traveling toward Montreal noticed something was wrong when they spotted the white plane flying suspiciously low, and they wasted no time unsheathing their smartphones — distracted driving concerns be damned. Footage posted on Facebook and widely circulated online shows the Canadian-registered Cherokee gradually and skillfully approaching a gap in traffic. It makes a smooth landing in the middle lane, ahead of a first-generation Toyota Echo (sold as the Yaris elsewhere in the world) — whose driver evidently doesn't have time for this kind of hooey — and, somewhat ironically, a current-generation Jeep Cherokee.
VIDEO HIGHWAY LANDING
A Piper PA-28 Cherokee landed safely this morning on Hwy 40 just south of Québec City Int’l Airport. A suspected mechanical issue caused the pilot to perform this forced landing. No injuries reported. pic.twitter.com/xmOMICjOJk— Tom Podolec Aviation (@TomPodolec) April 16, 2020
The pilot alerted Quebec City's fire department of his imminent and unexpected arrival. The first responders who rushed to the scene found the plane in one piece and politely parked on the side of the road, according to Canadian news outlet CBC. The local police stopped traffic for under an hour to tow the plane off the tarmac.
No one was hurt during the incident, and it doesn't look like anything was damaged, which is extremely surprising considering how close the plane flew to signs motorists drive under. There is no word yet on the nature of the mechanical failure that brought the Piper down, but it should take to the skies again once it's repaired.
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